A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 279

69. The Boss Is Watching (5)

Pitching Coach Thomas Culkin.

He was trembling slightly.

“You, your own… new pitch?”

His voice trembled as well.

“Not a curve, not a splitter… you were creating a completely new pitch? Without telling anyone, all by yourself?”

“Oh, Coach! It’s not that big of a deal!”

For some reason, Victor seemed to think the coach was praising him.

“Yes, of course, it wasn’t an easy path. I couldn’t sleep properly thinking about developing a new pitch, and I ate haphazardly.”

Lack of sleep and nutritional imbalance.

The pitching coach’s face trembled even more violently at those words, but unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Rays’ young ace didn’t notice at all.

“But I think it was a trial I had to go through at least once! In this era where everyone is just throwing sweepers! In this era where fans have to watch the same kind of pitchers! There are only a few who can confidently rebel!”

Victor Johnson picked up the baseball from the pitching coach’s hand with a determined expression.

“Coach, I’m really sorry for not being able to play in games for a while. But please wait just a little longer.”

He continued.

“The new pitch I’m creating… Revolution No. 7 is literally a revolution! A revolution in Major League Baseball, a revolution in the baseball world!”

Victor Johnson began to list praises for his new pitch, Revolution No. 7.

Saying it was a completely different kind of breaking ball from the ‘sweeper’ that’s popular in Major League Baseball these days.

Saying it was a pitch that led to a shift in thinking that others hadn’t thought of.

At the same time, he said that with its tremendous amount of movement, hitters wouldn’t be able to hit it even if they knew it was coming.

‘That guy… did he choose the wrong profession? He would have been much better as a con artist?’

Just as this thought crossed Ji-seop’s mind, his lengthy explanation was coming to an end.

“What do you think, Coach!”

What do I think?

“Don’t you think it’s worth waiting for? Although I’m being sent down to Triple-A today, on the day I return, I will lead our Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series championship…”

It was at this moment that Thomas Culkin cut him off.

“Victor.”

“Yes?”

“Which neighborhood has the most crocodiles that aren’t getting fed these days? Is it still our St. Petersburg? Because we have good animal control services here, right?”

“Well, wouldn’t you think so? Until last month, I often saw crocodile removal service vehicles in our home stadium parking lot…”

“Ah, is that so?”

The pitching coach continued in a barely audible voice.

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes? Where suddenly…”

As Victor Johnson tilted his head, the pitching coach’s eyes flashed open.

“Where else would we go! To the sea where crocodiles swim, you son of a bitch!!!”

Bang.

The pitching coach kicked the ball cart that was standing there and shouted.

“Let’s go! Let’s go get torn apart and die by crocodiles! What’s the point of living like this for you and me? It’s more rewarding to fill the bellies of hungry crocodiles. Don’t you think so?!”

* * *

Looking back,

The most common thing Ji-seop heard during his time in the American independent league was ‘make yourself comfortable’.

Be comfortable with the manager, be comfortable with the coach, and (of course) be comfortable with the seniors.

American baseball values horizontal relationships, and Ji-seop’s attitude was too rigid.

– …What are they talking about?

In fact, Ji-seop felt a little confused every time he heard such stories.

At that time, Ji-seop was treating the coaches more ‘comfortably’ than he ever had in Korea.

He would occasionally throw jokes, sit next to them when traveling, and steal snacks that the coaches were eating.

He felt like he was getting along comfortably enough, so what level were these people demanding?

And on this day, nearly 10 years later, Ji-seop was able to clearly understand the meaning of ‘make yourself comfortable’ that the coaches had said back then.

“Victor, you son of a bitch! Is your brain detachable? Do you take it off and put it back on, take it off and put it back on? If you want to learn a breaking ball, you should talk to me first. How can you be doing that on your own?!”

“Why are you being like this, Coach? How many times have I told you! I want to learn a new breaking ball, I’m tired of sweepers! What did you say then? You told me to just do what the front office tells me to do! You said that was the answer!!!”

Tampa Bay Rays pitching coach Thomas Culkin and his student Victor Johnson Jr.

The two of them were showing what American baseball players think of as ‘make yourself comfortable’.

“When did I tell you to do as I say! I explained everything to you!”

“What’s the point of explaining! In the end, it meant to shut up and follow!”

They weren’t just fighting with words.

They were kicking the ball cart, throwing balls, and shaking the pitching screen next to them while shouting ‘Aaaaargh’.

Amidst the scene unfolding before his eyes that made him think, ‘Wow, is that even allowed?’

“…”

Ji-seop stepped away from the fierce battlefield and was thinking about how to resolve this situation.

‘Oh dear… this is awkward, isn’t it?’

If someone were to ask him which side he was on, Ji-seop’s answer would be Thomas Culkin’s side.

Creating a completely new breaking ball is difficult. Ji-seop knew this best, as he had been more passionate about new breaking balls than anyone else during his active career.

He thought it was a truly new pitch, but it often turned out to be a breaking ball that someone had thrown before.

‘Well, that’s true, but…’

The problem was the ‘sweeper,’ a pitch that was enjoying peak popularity in Major League Baseball.

A breaking ball that breaks much more to the side than a typical slider.

Some people see it as just a type of slider, but anyway, Major League Baseball’s record sites have started classifying it as a ‘new pitch’.

‘Victor Johnson’s new pitch… was it called Revolution No. 7? Which one is it?’

Is he caught up in the illusion of creating a new pitch, like Ji-seop was in the past?

Or has the 24-year-old young ace created a ‘second sweeper’?

The surest way was to have Victor throw it once, but the problem was that this stubborn bullhead absolutely refused.

“I’ll show you when it’s finished, when it’s finished? I don’t want to release this amazing idea in an unrefined form!!”

Victor Johnson shouted at Thomas Culkin.

It was almost time for the other players to come to work, so Ji-seop had no choice but to step in to mediate the two.

‘I have no choice. It’s a bit of a gamble, so I was trying to avoid it, but…’

The method that had vaguely come to mind since the two started fighting.

The very method that could break Victor Johnson’s stubbornness and bring him back to the team if it worked out well.

Ji-seop put on as gentle an expression as possible and stepped between the two.

“Okay, that’s enough. Let’s stop fighting now.”

Ji-seop was also a big guy.

As he approached with his arms outstretched, neither Victor nor Thomas Culkin could shout any longer.

Of course, they had been shouting for almost 10 minutes, so they must have been physically exhausted.

“Victor, let’s do this.”

Ji-seop said to the 24-year-old ace who was going to bring a revolution to Major League Baseball.

“What Coach Culkin is worried about right now is nothing else. It’s about the new pitch you created…”

“It’s Revolution No. 7.”

Victor Johnson was still promoting the name of his pitch.

“Ah, yes, that Revolution… No. 7, he is worried about whether it overlaps with other pitches from the past, right?”

Isn’t that right?

As Ji-seop turned his gaze, Thomas Culkin nodded silently.

“Honestly, I wish you would show us yourself throwing the ball. Then both the coach and I would have no worries. But since you absolutely can’t do that…”

Ji-seop’s solution came at this moment.

“Victor, I’ll throw the ball.”

“Yes?”

Victor Johnson blinked his eyes.

“When I heard the explanation about Revolution No. 7, a few pitches actually came to my mind. Pitches that Major League Baseball pitchers used to throw in the past.”

“…”

“I’ll throw those pitches once. Victor, you just need to look at the ball I threw and see if it’s the same as your breaking ball or different… just confirm that.”

Ji-seop continued.

“This way, the coach and I can worry less, and you don’t have to reveal Revolution No. 7, so it seems like a win-win situation.”

What do you think?

Ji-seop looked at Victor Johnson and smiled gently.

* * *

Whoosh- Pow!

Whoosh- Pow!

After a few practice throws, Ji-seop slowly stepped onto the mound.

A blunt remark reached Ji-seop’s ear.

“Well, I can’t stop you from throwing the ball yourself, but…”

It was Victor Johnson, who was watching Ji-seop with his arms crossed.

“Kim, was it? You’re the type to go out of your way to do unnecessary things.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, Revolution No. 7 is a unique pitch! Someone threw a similar ball in the past? Hmph, that can’t happen!”

Seeing Victor Johnson making confident assertions, Ji-seop smiled quietly inside.

‘Hehe, we’ll see… what will it be like?’

Of course, Ji-seop couldn’t just capture the image in someone else’s head.

But who is Ji-seop?

A person who had worked harder than anyone else to learn breaking balls because of his 128km/h fastball during his active career [approximately 80 mph, considered slow for a professional pitcher].

A person who had learned new breaking balls by being a batting ball pitcher for the Cannons players since retiring from active duty.

With that experience, Ji-seop was confident.

He was confident that he could analyze Victor Johnson’s new pitch just by having a few words with him.

“Then I’ll start.”

Ji-seop picked up a ball that was rolling on the ground.

“Victor, you said that Revolution No. 7 is a completely different kind of breaking ball from the sweeper, right?”

At Ji-seop’s question, Victor Johnson, who was standing next to him, nodded.

“Yes, I said that.”

“The sweeper breaks a lot from side to side… then your new pitch must be a breaking ball that breaks from top to bottom.”

Whoosh- Pow!

As Ji-seop threw a ball, Victor Johnson cleared his throat.

It seemed like it was the correct answer. Ji-seop chuckled and picked up the second ball.

“It’s a shift in thinking that others haven’t thought of… then does that mean you throw it with a slider grip? Because the slider grip is usually used to create lateral movement, right?”

Whoosh- Pow!

As Ji-seop threw the second ball, Victor Johnson cleared his throat even louder.

He’s such an easy guy to read.

“And what was the third characteristic you mentioned? Ah, hitters won’t be able to hit it even if they know it’s coming?”

Ji-seop picked up a ball and started calculating while bouncing it on the back of his hand.

“The fact that hitters know it means that the timing of the change is fast, and the fact that they can’t hit it even if they know it means that the amount of change is so great that it almost goes in as a one-bounce…”

Swoosh.

Until now, Ji-seop had been throwing lightly as if he were playing catch, but at this time, he wound up for the first time.

He completely moved his tightly clasped hands behind his head and then to his chest. And the left leg that stretches out towards home plate.

Almost at the same time as he felt his left foot firmly fixed on the ground, at that very moment when he swung his arm forward like a whip.

Whoosh- Thud!

A breaking ball that entered with a large drop as if a waterfall was falling.

“Oh?”

Experienced pitching coach Thomas Culkin.

He recognized what kind of pitch it was at a glance.

“Ah, Brad! Brad Lidge!”

Culkin snapped his fingers.

“Isn’t that the slider that friend used to throw? The one that dropped with a big vertical change?”

“Yes, I didn’t intend to throw it that way… but when I threw it, it went in with that trajectory.”

As Ji-seop answered, Thomas Culkin had a look of nostalgia on his face.

“Wow, time is so scary! It’s already been almost 20 years since Brad’s slider swept through Major League Baseball… hmm?”

And the next moment, Thomas Culkin’s face changed strangely.

“…”

It was Victor Johnson.

The Tampa Bay ace, who had been looking at Ji-seop’s pitching with a proud look on his face until just now.

However, the moment Ji-seop threw the third ball, he had an expression as if he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

“Br… Brad? Brad… was there even a pitcher with that name?”

Muttering stories that he couldn’t even understand properly.

Thomas Culkin, who had roughly grasped the situation, turned to Ji-seop and said.

“Hey, Kim! It seems like you hit it in one shot?”

He laughed heartily.

“That guy’s new pitch… what was it? Mongolian No. 7?”

It’s Revolution No. 7.

But it probably doesn’t matter anymore.